Every application for the registration of an adoption society under section 19 of the Act shall be made in the form, and shall give the particulars, set out in the First Schedule.

3. Registration fee

The registration fee to be paid by an adoption society to the Commissioner for Juvenile Welfare shall be 75 fee units.

[Am by Act 13 of 1994.]

4. Duties of adoption society prior to acceptance of infant

Where the parent or guardian of a child proposes to place an infant at the disposition of a registered adoption society with a view to the infant’s adoption, the society—

(a) shall furnish the parent or guardian with a memorandum in the form set out in the Second Schedule; and

(b) shall not accept the infant unless the parent or guardian has signed and delivered to the society a certificate (which the society shall retain) in the form set out in the Second Schedule, that he has read and understood the said memorandum.

5. Duties of adoption society prior to placement

In the case of every infant proposed to be delivered by or on behalf of a registered adoption society into the care and possession of an adopter—

(a) the society shall make inquiries and obtain reports on the points set out in the Third Schedule; and the report obtained on the health of the infant shall be signed by a duly qualified medical practitioner; and

(b) the case shall be considered by a committee (to be called a "case committee") appointed by the society for the purpose and consisting of not less than three persons.

6. Duties of case committee

No infant shall be delivered into the care and possession of an adopter by or on behalf of a registered adoption society until—

(a) the adopter has been interviewed by the case committee or by some competent person on their behalf;

(b) the case committee has arranged for the inspection of, and received a report from a competent person upon, any premises in which the adopter intends that the infant should remain permanently; and

(c) the case committee has considered the reports required by regulation 5.

7. Annual reports of adoption society to be sent to Commissioner for Juvenile Welfare

Every registered adoption society shall, within 12 months of registration, and thereafter at least once in every period of 12 months, furnish to the Commissioner for Juvenile Welfare—

(a) duly audited accounts and balance sheets submitted by a person dissociated from the society and not in any way related to any member or officer of the society; and

(b) a report in the form set out in the Fourth Schedule.

8. Care of infants accepted by adoption society

(1) Every registered adoption society shall make adequate arrangements for the care and supervision of infants who have been placed by their parents or guardians in the care of the society.

(2) Every infant who is not accommodated in premises under direct control of the society, or accommodated in any approved home or institution providing for the care and protection of children, shall, unless and until the infant has been adopted in pursuance of an adoption order, be visited in the first month and thereafter at least once a month by a representative of the society who shall report upon the case to the case committee; if the case committee so recommend, the society shall immediately remove the infant.

FIRST SCHEDULE

[Regulation 2]

ADOPTION ACT

FORM OF APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION

I/We, the undersigned, being a person/persons duly authorised on behalf of the society called the .............................................. , hereby apply to the Commissioner for Juvenile Welfare to have the said society registered as an adoption society under the provisions of section 19 of the Adoption Act.

(State if the society applies its profits, if any, and other income to promoting these objects.) (A copy of the society’s constitution should be attached to this application.)

5. Full names, addresses and occupations or descriptions of the members of the committee controlling the activities of the society should be attached as Schedule I to this application.

6. Full names, addresses and occupations or descriptions of the members of case committees should be attached as Schedule II to this application.

7. Full names, addresses and qualifications of all persons employed by the society, whether voluntary or paid, for the purpose of making any investigations or reports on behalf of the society should be attached as Schedule III to this application.

8. Copies of the society’s latest annual report and audited statement of accounts should be attached.

I/We hereby declare that the particulars furnished above and in Schedules I, II and III to this application are correct in every respect.

(Form of Memorandum to be given to the parent or guardian and Certificate to be signed by parent or guardian)

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN: EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. If the Court makes an adoption order, all your rights and duties with regard to the child will be transferred permanently to the adopter(s) and in law the child will no longer be yours.

2. The Court cannot make an adoption order without the consent of each parent or guardian of the child unless it is satisfied—

(a) in the case of a parent or guardian of the child, that he has abandoned, neglected or persistently ill-treated the child;

(b) in the case of a person liable by virtue of an order or agreement to contribute to the maintenance of the child, that he has persistently neglected or refused so to contribute;

(c) in any case, that the person whose consent is required cannot be found, or is incapable of giving his consent, or that his consent is unreasonably withheld.

If the natural father of an illegitimate child contributes towards the child’s maintenance under an affiliation order or a voluntary agreement, the Court will, as a rule, require his consent also.

3. Your consent must be given in writing and must be attested by a Magistrate. If you are the child’s mother, your consent cannot be given until the child is at least six weeks old on the date of the execution of the document. In giving your consent you may, if you choose, stipulate the religious persuasion in which you desire the child to be brought up.

4. You are not allowed to receive or pay any money for the adoption unless the Court agrees. This does not apply to a weekly payment for the maintenance of your child before placement with the adopter(s), whether paid to an adoption society, nursery or foster mother.

5. An adoption society cannot arrange for your child to be sent abroad for adoption without a license from the Commissioner for Juvenile Welfare and here again the license cannot be granted without your consent, except for a reason of the same sort as those set out in paragraph 2.

6. If you have taken out an insurance policy against funeral expenses for your child, the insurers will be able to tell you whether, after the adoption order is granted, the policy can be transferred to the adopter(s) should they wish to continue it.

CERTIFICATE

(To be furnished to a registered adoption society by a parent or guardian proposing to place a child at the disposition of the society with a view to the child being adopted)

I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have received from ........................................................................ a Memorandum headed "Adoption of Children: Explanatory Memorandum", from which I have detached this certificate of acknowledgment, and I further certify that I have read the Memorandum and understand it.

[Points on which inquiries must be made and reports obtained in the case of every child proposed to be delivered by or on behalf of a registered adoption society into the care and possession of an adopter]

PART A — PARTICULARS RELATING TO THE CHILD

1. Name.

2. Address.

3. Date and place of birth.

4. Is the child resident in Zambia?

5. If baptised, state place of baptism and denomination.

6. Full name, address and age of the child’s parents. If dead, state date of death.

7. Parents’ religion.

8. Has either parent any other children? If so, state their ages and sex.

9. Is there any history of insanity, tuberculosis or other disease in the family of either parent?

10. Why is the child offered for adoption?

11. Has the child any right or interest in property? If so, give full particulars.

12. Has any insurance been effected on the life of the child?

PART B — PARTICULARS RELATING TO THE PARENTS OR GUARDIANS

1. If the mother is alive, does she consent to adoption?

2. If the father is alive—

(a) is he married to the mother or otherwise liable to contribute to the child’s maintenance? If so, give particulars. (If the parents are separated, state whether there is a separation order in force.)

(b) does he consent to the adoption?

3. If the child has guardians, state—

(a) their names and addresses;

(b) how and by whom they were appointed;

(c) whether they consent to adoption.

4. —

(a) Are any other persons liable to contribute to the support of the child?

(b) If so, do they agree to adoption?

5. If the answer to questions 1, 2 (b), 3 (c) or 4 (b) is in the negative, the reason should be stated.

PART C — PARTICULARS RELATING TO THE ADOPTER

1. Name(s).

2. Address(es).

3. Country of domicile.

4. Date(s) of birth.

5. Religion(s).

6. Occupation(s).

7. Is it intended to apply for an adoption order?

8. Is the adopter married or are the adopters a married couple? If so, give date and place of marriage, and say whether it is intended to make a joint application for an adoption order.

9. Is there any child of the adopter(s) living at home? If so, give age and sex.

10. Has any child been adopted by the adopter(s) before? If so, give particulars.

11. What is the accommodation and condition of the home?

12. What are the means of the adopter(s)? How far are the earnings of children living at home included?

13. What are the wishes of the adopter(s) as to the age and sex of the child they wish to adopt?

14. Give the names and addresses of two responsible persons who can vouch for the character of the adopter(s).

PART D — VERIFICATION OF PARTICULARS

1. —

(a) Have the particulars given under Parts A, B and C above been verified so far as possible?

(b) Have the particulars of the birth of the child, and of the death, marriage or separation of the parents, and of the marriage of the adopter(s) been confirmed by inspection of certificates of birth, death or marriage or the separation order?

2. Has a representative of the case committee interviewed the adopter(s)?

3. Has the home of the adopter(s) been inspected by a representative of the case committee? Was it found satisfactory?

4. Are the adopter(s) and the members of their household persons of good character? Have their references been taken up?

5. Do the adopter(s) and the members of their household appear to be in good health?

6. Has the child been seen by the adopter(s)?

7. Has the child been accepted by the adopter(s) with a view to adoption?

PART E — MEDICAL PARTICULARS

(The medical report must be signed by a duly qualified medical practitioner)

1. —

(a) Date of birth.

(b) Weight at birth (state if premature).

(c) Present weight.

(d) Was the mother’s confinement normal or instrumental?

2. Was the child—

(a) entirely breast-fed;

(b) partially breast-fed; or

(c) entirely bottle-fed?

3. State of nutrition (good, fair, poor).

4. —

(a) When did the child begin to walk?

(b) When did the child begin to talk?

5. Has the child any affection of bones, muscles or joints?

6. Are there any evidences of paralysis?

7. Are there any evidences of syphilis? State result of serological test.

8. Is there any evidence of tuberculosis?

9. Has the child had fits? If so, state nature.

10. Is there, or has there been, any affection of the skin?

11. Is there, or has there been, any affection of the eyes? Is the sight normal?

12. Has the child had any discharge from the ears, or any serious ear trouble and can it hear well?

13. Are the nose and throat in healthy condition?

14. Is there any evidence of disease of heart or lungs?

15. Has the child normal control of bowels and bladder for its age?

16. Is the child now suffering from any infectious or contagious disease?

17. Has the child had scarlet fever, measles, chicken-pox, whooping-cough, diphtheria or mumps?

18. —

(a) Has the child been vaccinated?

(b) Has the child been immunised against diphtheria?

19. Has the child any signs of active or healed rickets?

20. Is the child’s mental and physical development normal for its age?

21. Are behaviour, speech and articulation normal for its age?

22. If the child has been neglected or improperly fed, do you consider its constitution such that good nursing and proper care would make it suitable for adoption?

23. Give particulars of any condition not mentioned above about which you consider an adopter should be informed.

FOURTH SCHEDULE

[Regulation 7]

ADOPTION ACT

FORM OF ANNUAL REPORT

<PS:"Form RuleReport to the Commissioner for Juvenile Welfare from the adoption society called for the year ended ............................

1. Full postal address of the society’s administrative centre.

2. Has there been any change in the objects for which the society exists? Does it still apply the whole of its profits, if any, and other income in promoting those objects?

3. Full names, addresses and occupations or descriptions of all members of the committee controlling the activities of the society.

4. Full names, addresses, occupations or descriptions and qualifications of members of the case committee.

5. Has any person taking part in the management or control of the society or any member of the society been convicted of an offence under the Adoption Act, or of a breach of any regulation made thereunder ? (If so, give particulars.)

6. Full names, addresses and qualifications of all persons employed by the society, whether voluntary or paid, for the purpose of making any arrangements for the adoption of children.

<PS:"Form Rule7. Cases dealt with by the society during the year ended ...................................................

(a) Number of applications from persons wishing to adopt a child.

(b) Number of children offered to the society with a view to adoption.

(c) Number of children taken into hostels under the direct control of the society pending adoption.

(d) Number of children placed by the society pending adoption in foster homes or hostels not under the direct control of the society.

(e) Number of children placed with a view to adoption.

(f) Number of adoption orders made in respect of children placed by the society.

8. —

(a) Number of children placed for adoption by the society and awaiting adoption orders at the end of the year.

(b) Number of children in hostels under the direct control of the society at the end of the year.

(c) Number of children at the end of the year in foster homes or in hostels in which they had been placed by the society but which are not under the society’s direct control.

9. A copy of the society’s latest annual report should be attached.

I/We hereby declare that the above particulars are correct in every respect.